First time in Imola for Andrea Kimi Antonelli, a 17-year-old driver from Bologna who holds all the hopes of the Italy he dreams of a blue protagonist in Formula 1. The young talent is competing in the Formula 2 championship with Team Prema ma it is linked to Mercedes for years and could be the heir to Lewis Hamilton on the British single-seater from next year. For now he’s enjoying it the first tastes of F1: after his debut in Austria a few weeks ago, he has clocked up some kilometers in recent days in Imola at the wheel of the W13 used in the 2022 championship.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli and the dream of debuting in Formula One
Good sensations in terms of both continuity and pace for Antonelli who worked hard on the first day about forty laps taking advantage of the sun which kissed the track, stopping a couple of seconds away from the car’s record on the Emilian track, set two years ago by Hamilton. On the second day of testing the boy – student at the Salvemini high school in Casalecchio di Reno – he exceeded fifty laps and significantly lowered his record by making just one mistake. The balance is decidedly comforting and shows that Antonelli already has good familiarity in managing a top-level single-seater.
The possibility of him making his debut with Williams in this championship
For this reason the doors of a real dream could open wide for him: the early debut in Formula 1 right in Imola. It would be a triple leap in a few months for a driver who skipped F3 to land directly in F2. Williams would give him this opportunity who is looking for a driver to end the season and is thinking of relying on Antonelli starting from the grand prix on May 19th in Emilia. To succeed a special exemption would be needed to the regulation that does not allow minors to get behind the wheel of an F1 car. Obtaining such a document is difficult but not impossible given that it is already happened with Max Verstappen.
After the tests in Austria, the race tests also took place in Imola
Now the stables will return to focus exclusively on the Miami GP scheduled for May 5th but a decision on Antonelli’s future will probably come within a few days. The young racing ace has done his part, now he just has to wait. A debut at Imola would have a truly special flavor for him who, despite being too young to have seen him race, grew up surrounded by the myth of Ayrton Senna by devouring videos online. Making his debut on the Emilian circuit on the thirtieth anniversary of the Brazilian’s death would certainly be very emotional for the driver.
